Surbo
Welcome to Surbo!
Hello everyone! Today we will talk about Surbo, a municipality in the province of Lecce, in Puglia. Surbo has 14,517 inhabitants and is located in central Salento. The town is an Enclave and exclave in Italy, meaning it is surrounded by the municipality of Lecce, only 5 km away from its center to the north.
Come and discover everything there is to know about Surbo and its history!
Physical geography
Territory
The territory of Surbo extends over an area of 10.20 km² in the north-eastern part of the province of Lecce, with a flat morphology ranging between 15 and 52 meters above sea level. The town is part of the Cupa Valley, a portion of Salento plain characterized by a large karst depression. In addition, large olive groves extend in the wide plain surrounding the town.
It should be noted that the municipal territory of Surbo is entirely surrounded by the territory of the municipality of Lecce.
Climate
The climate of Surbo falls under the C climatic zone, with average temperatures ranging between 7°C in January and 30°C in August. Rainfall is frequent in autumn and winter, with an annual average of about 600 mm of rainfall. Spring and summer, on the other hand, are characterized by long periods of drought.
Origins of the name
According to scholars, the toponym Surbo derives from the Byzantine Greek ''Soùrbon'', which means sorb, a common and widespread wild fruit in the town's territory. The Byzantine etymology is linked to the origins of the hamlet, which was born as an offshoot of the same Basilian nucleus of San Giorgio.
Some historians, however, argue that Surbo derives from the Latin "suburbium", i.e. suburb, outskirts. However, during the Norman era, Surbo was not the only suburb of Lecce, as the hamlet of Pettorano was closer to the city.
History
The feud of Surbo is first documented in a diploma of the Norman Tancredi of Lecce dated 1180, in which the king cedes land and hamlets to the Church of Saints Niccolò and Cataldo of Lecce. By the 200s, the hamlet was forming - detaching itself from the nearby abbey of Santa Maria in Cerrate which supported its first institutional and religious organization.
In the 400s, the feud passed on to several families including the Guerra, until the Cantelmo, who were lords for almost two centuries. In 1809, with the suppression of feudalism, the town became an autonomous municipality, and celebrates its festival on October 20 to commemorate this event.
Places to visit
Let's move on to the beauties of the town! Surbo, despite being a small municipality, has some interesting attractions to discover, such as the hamlet of Giorgilorio, located 1.8 km from the town center. Here you can find the church of San Giorgio and the Byzantine crypt. The church is very beautiful and interesting to visit, with a baroque façade and an interior decorated with frescoes and stuccoes. The crypt, on the other hand, passes through the walls of a former church dating back to the 11th century, probably readapted by the Basilian monks in the 400s.
Also, very beautiful is the mother church of Surbo, dedicated to Santa Maria della Purificazione, which has a Baroque-style façade typical of Lecce. The interior is equally beautiful, but the most interesting aspect is given by the works of art it preserves, including the statue of the Madonna with the Child, made by the sculptor Domenico Carella.
Moreover, an almost mandatory stop is the Tower of the Town, a symbol of Surbo, built in the 500s as a lookout tower. It is located at the highest point of the town and it is possible to climb up to its summit to admire the surrounding landscape, which ranges from Salento countryside to the Adriatic Sea.
Salento cuisine
And what about the cuisine? Surbo, like the whole of Puglia, does not disappoint expectations with its delicious cuisine. You should try fish-based dishes, such as purèa di porpore (a type of mollusk), fish soup, and sardines a beccafico. Among the first courses, instead, orecchiette with turnip tops are famous and must not be missed during a visit to Salento. Finally, among the sweets, we recommend pasticciotti, a sort of small pie filled with custard cream, typical of Salento.
Conclusions
So here is a brief overview of Surbo, the enclave and exclave municipality in Italy. With its history and beauties, Surbo definitely deserves a visit as part of a trip to Puglia. Once here, you cannot miss the beauty of its churches and the Tower of the town, perhaps enjoying the dishes of Salento cuisine in one of the restaurants in the historic center.
We hope you enjoyed this brief virtual journey and that you can soon visit Surbo in person! See you soon!
